The Priority of Redemption

Let’s talk a little about a distinctly Christian culture. Following Christ means doing things the way He did them. On the one hand, we recognize that He lived in a specific context that isn’t ours. On the other hand, we must learn what part of His context reflected the way His Father intended humans to live in this fallen world. Jesus’ world reflected only one manifestation of the Father’s intentions. I’m sure we all have our own take on where that balances out. Here are some issues I think require attention.

First, there is the pragmatic issue of knowing that God will never grant His people political dominance on this earth. The mere thought of trying to assert such dominance over some portion of humanity via political power means completely leaving the path of Christ. He pointedly avoided doing that. If people were not led to a community of faith and righteousness by something inside of them, then it would never do them any good at all. That internal pull is a miracle. You can approximate the external organization for people, but you cannot empower obedience without the Holy Spirit. Flesh cannot do the will of God.

The very best we can hope for is building an atmosphere in which those empowered by the Spirit of God have good choices, and are protected from really bad ones. There absolutely must be leadership and some form of government, but the submission of dependents requires a miracle of trusting God to work through His human servants.

We are unequivocally commanded to form a community of faith, but it must be ruled by faith internally, not by external compulsion. Even here, we are not absolutists: We have the practical matter of children who need structure and guidance to survive into adulthood. Thus, the core of living by faith includes the idea of thresholds at which people are granted autonomy within the community. We shepherd the people based on what they can handle. The issue is moral covering as God provided. There are many forces in this world that are not human and not restricted to human options.

We are obliged to recognize a higher realm of power that is very real, and that our fallen human nature is allied with them against our own best interests. Facing off against those forces that are almost unanimously against God’s will for humanity, our only hope is take full advantage of the limited powers God grants in His revelation. He promises to inhibit those greater powers through our obedience to His revelation. But the key to His power in us is declaring war on our fleshly selves, bringing that beast into submission to a higher will.

We are accountable by faith — a feudal submission to God for doing things His way in this life. We have to absorb His priorities. His guidance can never be reduced to mere human language. No matter how we formulate His guidance, it will have gaps and blockages that never quite fit the reality of how we live. He expects the community of faith to recognize this, and to remain sensitive to His voice as a whole community.

Having said just this much, just a few paragraphs, makes us wholly alien to the social and political atmosphere of the US. There is so very little in American society that reflects God’s ways that we should be shockingly different. Granted, not everything in American society is objectionable, but for us to fail in distinguishing ourselves means we have failed our mission.

On the one hand, we recognize that America is being ripped apart by implacable and opposite visions for society. On the other hand, it’s very hard to realize that the obvious conflict takes place within a basic set of assumptions about reality that in themselves are false. The options offered by our society are equally objectionable. Again, it’s not in the particulars so much as the fundamental assumptions.

Let me cite one example to highlight this issue: Conservative Dad’s Real Women of America. The calendar itself, and the women depicted on it, represent all that’s wrong with conservative politics. If you really do want to see those pictures displayed on your wall somewhere, you have yet to tame the flesh. You are still serving the Lord’s enemies. The mere act of putting themselves on display in such a manner should indicate how thoroughly unqualified those women are for your attention; they are defiled and would destroy your faith.

It’s not that we could change society and make it better behaved. That might make some elements of our lives a little easier, but it won’t help them one little bit if we somehow gained the power to compel their behavior to fit biblical expectations. They are still damned, on the highway to Hell, serving the Lord’s enemies.

The community cannot exist as intended until the individual is redeemed. That there are so many efforts to create a community first, and then to drag individuals into it, shows that we have not yet learned God’s ways. Christian culture is not a static thing we can depict; it is merely the living and morphing reflection of God’s people coming together in a given context.